BAD BOYS

03.03.15

Ferguson Cops Joked About Black Abortion

Michael B. Thomas/Getty Images

The Department of Justice has found police officers in Ferguson, Missouri, routinely violated black residents’ constitutional rights, using excessive force and unjustified traffic stops for years. In addition, investigators said police officials made racist jokes about blacks via their official email accounts. One officer said Obama wouldn't be president for long because “what black man holds a steady job for four years?” Another said a black woman got a check from “Crime Stoppers” for having an abortion. Investigators reviewed 35,000 pages of police records and analyzed data on every police stop. African Americans made up 93 percent of arrests, 88 percent of cases where force was used, 90 percent of citations, and 85 percent of traffic stops. By contrast, they are about 66 percent of the city’s population. The full report will be released on Wednesday.